Debt and Taxes Chapter 15.

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2 In Perfect Markets Capital Structure is irrelevantRisks of debt and equity (beta’s) are affected by leverageEPS risk changes with capital structureWACC (used to calculate firm value) not affectedRecapitalization is zero-NPVSeasoned Equity Offerings (SEO’s) do not dilute shareholder valueShare repurchase does not increase share price.

3 Today The tax advantage of debt Computing the interest tax shieldPermanent debtFixed debt to equity ratioThe WACCValue of recapitalizationPersonal taxesOther limits to the tax advantage of debtUse of debt around the world

4 Actual Leverage LevelsIn reality, however, firms manage their capital structure very carefullyDifferent firms, e.g., in different industries or different stages of growth, have different capital structuresFirmDebtEquityD/ECAT$28.4B$63.9B0.44AAPL$0$324.3BHP$20.4B$90.7B0.22DELL$6B$29.49B0.20PEP$24.9B$102.2B0.24MIC$28.6B$198.1B0.14JPM$1,941.5B$178.8B10.8

5 Government as Claim HolderFirm XValue of all future cash flows from projectShareholdersDebt holdersGovernment

6 Debt Tax AdvantageCorporations pay tax on the income they earn after interest payments are deductedInterest expenses reduce the amount of corporate tax firms must payThis introduces a benefit for using debtConsider the example of Safeway, Inc. a grocery store chain.

7 Interest and tax deductionExample (page 460)Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were $1.25 billion in 2005, interest expenses were $400 million, and its marginal corporate tax rate was 35%.Lets calculate the effect of leverage on Safeway’s net income by considering two scenarios: without leverage and with leverage as it is now.

9 Value implications Example continuedLeverage reduces the corporation’s tax liability and its net incomeBut it creates value for equity holders!Look at the total value of the firm – that is, the payoffs to claims issued by the firmWith leverage total payoff is $552+$400=$952 while without leverage its $812.The government is paid the $140 difference.Leverage increased firm value by $140 million.

10 The Interest Tax ShieldExample continuedThe loan of $400 million reduced tax payments by $400 (0.35) = $140This is referred to as the interest tax shieldThe interest tax shield is the additional amount the firm would have paid in taxes if it did not have leverage

15 Valuing the interest tax shieldThe interest tax shield is positive when EBIT exceeds the interest paymentThe value of the interest tax shield is the present value of all future interest tax shieldsThe value of a levered firm exceeds the value of an all else equal unlevered firm by the value of the interest tax shieldAPV methodVL = VU + PV(Interest tax shield)

16 Valuing the interest tax shieldExample page 463DFB takes a ten year loan of $2 billion at the risk free interest rate of 5%.DFB will pay interest of $100 million at the end of each year for the ten years and will repay the principal at maturityDFB’s marginal tax rate is 35%Lets calculate the PV(interest tax shield)

21 PV(Interest payments) = ?The Assumptions made:Assumptions:Debt payments are risk freeThe firm can cover its debt payments at all times with zero probability for defaultThese assumptions fit very few transactionsActually, we don’t need such strong assumptions. From the no-arbitrage principle:PV(Interest payments) = ?

23 Levering up to capture the tax shieldLeveraged recaps were very popular in mid to late 1980’sBy doing so firms reduced their tax liability (among other things…)Example page 468Midco has 20m $15 and no debtIts tax rate is 35%It plans to borrow $100m to repurchase sharesLets trace this transaction and its implications for the stock price of Midco (what do you expect?)

27 Personal taxes and the interest tax shieldDebt allows corporations to pay more of its cash flows to debt holdersFor individualsInterest payments are taxed as incomeDividends and capital gains are taxed separatelyWhat are the consequences of investors’ taxes on firm value?

32 Optimal Capital Structure with taxesWhen raising new capital from investors firms primarily do so by issuing debt

33 Optimal Capital Structure with taxesFor the average firm debt accounts for 30%-45% of firm value depending on the year

34 Optimal capital structure with taxesThere are large differences across industries (2005)

35 Limits to the tax benefit of debtThere is a tax advantage to debt only if the firm is paying taxes in the first placeNo corporate tax benefit arises from interest payments in excess of EBITThere is a cost associated with such excess leverage

36 Limits to the tax benefit of debtIt is optimal (from a tax perspective) to set interest payments equal to EBITCan a firm predict its EBIT?What does risk associated with EBIT do to the value of the tax shield?

37 Limits to the tax benefit of debtConsider high growth firmsFirms in early stages of development have little earnings if at allOptimal debt is proportional to current earningsValue of equity is determined by future earningsFrom a tax perspective, high growth firms optimally aim for lower debt to value ratios

38 Limits to the tax benefit of debtAlternative tax shieldsSeveral firms pay their employees stock options – that is the option to purchase the stock at the strike price some time in the future (as a substitute to salary)IRS allows the firm to deduct the discount relative to the current price but it didn’t affect EBIT under GAAPResult – Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, Qualcomm had no taxable income (reported in 2000)Stock option deductions for entire Nasdaq 100 exceeded aggregate pretax earnings